Erdrich’s Crusade: Sexual Violence & The Round House

Dr. Julie Tharp, a professor of English and American Indian Studies at UW-Marshfield/Wood County, will be speaking at UW-Waukesha’s Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 4th. A pre-kickoff event in Waukesha/Milwaukee for the Wisconsin Reads The Round House: An NEA Big Read, Tharp’s lecture will help introduce Anishinaabe author Louise Erdrich’s novel, The Round House.

Tharp, a scholar of Native American writers and author of “Erdrich’s Crusade: Sexual Violence and The Round House,” will explore some of the challenges Native American women face when it comes to sexual violence and the legal complications that make social justice so elusive. The Round House follows the thoughts and actions of Joe Coutts, a young Native American boy, as he seeks to avenge the brutal rape of his mother, Geraldine. The sexual assault of Geraldine takes place on tribal land, which complicates the investigation/prosecution of the non-Native offender. Joe’s father, Basil, is a tribal judge who feels helpless at his lack of ability to help his wife; the novel delves into the convoluted laws and jurisdictions that make it difficult for legal authorities to prosecute crimes that occur on Indian reservations.

The Wisconsin Reads The Round House project was created through a collaboration of University of Wisconsin Colleges and Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community Colleges’ students, faculty, and staff with the objective of bringing communities around the state together to discuss The Round House. Over 70 events will take place across the state in the cities and surrounding areas of Rice Lake, Hayward/LCO, Marshfield, Baraboo, and Waukesha/Milwaukee in March and April of 2018 and will include discussions, films, lectures, art exhibits, and story-telling workshops, as well as programs for area youth. Milwaukee/Waukesha events will include a poetry reading and introduction to The Round House by Kimberly Blaeser on March 8th at the Woodland Pattern Book Center, as well as community conversations, story-telling workshops, and poetry writing workshops throughout the months of March and April at Woodland Pattern Book Center, UW-Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Public Museum, and UW-Waukesha.

A program of the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with Minneapolis-based Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read is meant to broaden understanding of the world and our communities through the sharing of a good book. For additional information on the Wisconsin Reads The Round House program and upcoming events, please visit the website at http://wisconsinreads.org or contact Lee Friederich, Project Director: lee.friederich@uwc.edu.